Three Marauders and a Maiden
by Lady Andie
Summary: (Marauders Era) Twelve thirty... four friends, and Potions at ten in the morning. They would be up all night.... And that was just the way he liked it. (COMPLETE)


**Three Marauders and a Maiden**

  
  
Remus Lupin pushed away his book, sat back against the sofa, and rubbed his hand over his face. He let out all of his breath in a weary sigh, letting his hand linger for a moment over his eyes. It was no use. 

He rubbed the bridge of his nose before raising his hand to pull it through his sandy hair. Why had he put off the blasted Potions assignment, anyway? Eighteen inches on the alchemical differences between the three subspecies of Spiderswort, and he had waited until the eleventh hour to even _start_his reading. 

Quite literally. 

Remus cast his eyes toward the ornate clock on the mantel. Both hands were reaching toward the glimmering figure of a waning moon, one centered directly over the narrow horns and the other reaching slightly past the full curve of the crescent's back. 

Midnight, or close enough. 

Remus let his hand rest for a moment on the back of his neck,. Then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back toward the overstuffed cushions. He paused, opened his eyes, raised his head and let it drop again. 

The cushions were… firmer than he remembered. Remus frowned in his confusion, then tried to wriggle his head into a more comfortable position. A muffled protest erupted from somewhere above his head. The cushions behind him shifted slightly, pulling his head along for the ride and tugging lightly at his tousled hair. 

Remus let out a little snort as his hair was tugged again, but then realization dawned, and a slow smile began to creep over his lips. So that was it. He let out a melodramatically noisy sigh of contentment as he shifted again, pulling his hair away. Then he let his head drop back onto the slender legs behind him, for that's what they were. 

There was a brief silence, and then the faint, unmistakable crack of a hand smacking as much of the back of Remus' head as his assailant could reach. From behind Remus came a whispered curse that held in its hiss more than a hint of amusement. 

"Watch it, you. That's my girlfriend's legs you're molesting, you great shaggy git…" 

Remus let a low chuckle break from his throat and opened his eyes, pulling his head away and lifting a hand to rub at his injured scalp. It was more of a show than anything else, but James' second attack hit harder, now that the target was clear, and it stung sharply at the back of Remus' hand. Remus laughed and shook his hand. 

"What the…?" 

"Wake her up, Moony, and I'll…." James lifted his hand again, arching a single dark eyebrow. 

Remus' chuckle deepened into a laugh, and he looked over his shoulder, cringing away from his friend's hand. 

"It'll be your own ruddy fault, Potter, if she wakes up. I'm amazed she can sleep through all your thrashing about, and you _do_know you mumble to yourself when you're thinking, don't you…?" 

Remus laughed again, ducking away just in time. James' hand thrashed around a bit, trying to reach Remus, but Remus had scuttled out from the narrow alleyway that separated table from sofa. He was out of reach. He was, however, too late to duck the incoming pillow missile that appeared suddenly in James' other hand, an impossibly plump monstrosity of scarlet velvet trimmed with gold. 

The pillow hit Remus directly in the face and flung him backward, sending a colorful, if somewhat muffled, stream of curses into the air of the Gryffindor common room. 

It was James' turn to laugh now… very quietly… as he settled again into the corner of the overstuffed sofa, a triumphant smirk dancing in his eyes. As Remus thrust the pillow away with a frustrated grunt, James pushed at the bridge of his glasses with one hand, slipping the other protectively around the shoulder of the girl who slept beside him, her head resting comfortably on his thigh. He nestled his hand in the thick mass of auburn curls that fell over Lily Evans' back, twirling a lock around his index finger and letting it slip through his finger and thumb. 

It was an almost unconscious, brutally tender movement, and Remus let out a sighing groan, rolling his eyes. 

"Merlin, Potter, can't you keep your hands off the poor girl for a single…." 

James' free hand went searching for another pillow, but he was careful not to shift Lily's sleeping form. "Please, Lupin!. You mean to tell me if _you_had an angel sleeping in _your_lap, you wouldn't…." 

Remus laughed again, screwing his eyes shut and making every effort to appear ill. It didn't take much. "Oh, come _on_, Potter! Honestly, I think I may go into diabetic shock if you go on like that much longer…." 

"Oh, shut up…." 

James' hand had found his own Potions homework, a curling piece of parchment with not quite a foot of even handwriting covering its surface. James flung it at Remus with a growling laugh. 

Remus ducked again, and the parchment went sailing past his head, landing on the floor some feet behind him with a flutter. Remus laughed and opened his mouth to emit another scathing, Marauder-worthy taunt, but at that very moment the sound of a muffled voice came from the other side of the door to the Gryffindor common room. James looked toward the door, and Remus turned to follow his friend's gaze. He was just in time to see the door open and a tall, dark-haired boy step through, a triumphant glitter in his deep blue eyes. 

Remus grinned and inclined his head in greeting. "Finally, Sirius! I've been _waiting_for the cavalry!" 

Sirius closed the door behind him, his look of triumph turning quickly to curiosity and mild confusion. He raised his dark eyebrows as he met Remus' laughing gaze, then blinked. 

"Cavalry? What?" 

Remus nodded over his shoulder, and Sirius' eyes followed the movement. He looked past Remus toward James and Lily. Confusion turned suddenly to understanding, and Sirius groaned and rolled his eyes 

"Not again…." 

Remus nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. And I've been attacked." He nodded again in the direction of the sofa. "Say something, will you, Black? Potter's gone all doe-eyed, and I'm going to be sick." 

There was a note of caution in James' low chuckle. "I'm warning you, Lupin…." 

Sirius laughed and dropped gracefully into the armchair just behind Remus. He threw one long leg over the arm of the chair and lifted his own arm to rest it on the pillowed back. 

"Oh, forget it, Potter." Sirius let his laughter fade to a low chuckle. He jerked his head in Remus' direction, tossing his fashionably shaggy hair from his eyes. "Moony could take you down any day of the week." 

Remus laughed, and Sirius raised a hand to silence James' imminent protest. He looked between the two of them thoughtfully. "All right, so Moony could take you down any day of the week so long as he pinched your wand first…." 

James laughed softly, throwing Remus a triumphant grin. Remus scowled, though the laughter threatened to break from his chest. 

No doubt about it, James was better with a wand, and Sirius was even better than James, but when it came to sheer muscle…. Remus' mirth faded only slightly and he pulled a hand again through his sandy hair again, taking a handful as his hand came to rest on the back of his neck. None of his friends could match his strength. 

No one at Hogwart's could. 

His… _condition_had definite advantages, to be sure. Quidditch, for one. He could hurl a quaffle from fifty yards with enough power to knock a Keeper through his own hoop. He could run faster than any other student, and his friends had learned years ago that wrestling with the sandy-haired boy was always a losing proposition, and generally involved a trip to the Hospital Wing. 

But there were days… _nights_when he would trade it all for a normal life. A real life. 

Remus looked up just in time to see James and Sirius sharing a troubled glance. Then they both looked at Remus, the unease in their eyes growing with each second of his silence. 

The full moon was only a few nights away, though Remus had not yet begun to feel the urges that warned of the oncoming change. Still, it was not unusual for his friends to be concerned so close to the moon's peak. They knew what was coming. After all, his friends - James, Sirius, and even mousy little Peter Pettigrew - had undertaken the serious and unarguably dangerous training that allowed them to become animagi, changing from human form to that of carefully chosen animals at will. And all so he wouldn't be alone in his… _difficulty. _

No one had ever had better friends than his. 

Remus smiled in spite of himself, lightly tugging at the sandy locks of hair still clutched in his hand. He raised his other hand and laced his fingers together. Then he stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back into his hands. He looked at between James and Sirius with an expression of sheer boredom. 

James raised his eyebrows, Sirius' trademark smirk widened slightly, and Remus finally flashed the two of them a jaunty grin, tossing his hair out of his eyes with a careless gesture. 

"Wand or no wand," Remus began with a bored sigh, "I can _still_toss both your sorry arses to Hogsmeade and back…." 

Remus' boast was quickly cut off by another sharp smack on the back of his head, this time courtesy of Sirius Black. Remus sat up instantly, then groaned and raised his hand to protect himself from further injustices. He scowled over his shoulder at Sirius' barking laugh. 

"Blast it, man, I'm imjured there already…." 

James laughed and nodded at Sirius, then settled into a more comfortable position on the sofa and began to toy again with Lily's thick curls. He grinned at Remus. "Serves you right, I'd say. Taking advantage of my poor unsuspecting Lily like that, and then…." 

Sirius shot up in his chair, his dark eyes wide with obviously feigned dismay. 

_"What?"_

Sirius looked quickly between James and Remus. James looked at Remus, Remus looked at James, and they both looked at Sirius with identical expressions of surprise. 

Sirius looked then at Lily, then back up James with a somewhat petulant expression. "You never let _me_take advantage of Lily. Best mates since first year, and I never even get a chance! Attacked! It's favoritism, that's what it is! Remus helps you with your History of Magic homework _one_night, and…." 

Remus laughed and grabbed James' pillow missile from where it lay on the floor. Then he flung it brutally toward the still-protesting Sirius. 

"It's not as thought I don't contribut…." 

Sirius' protests were replaced quickly by the muffled thud of a successful pillow hit. Both James and Remus burst into fits of laughter. They lasted for just a moment before James waved his hands frantically to quiet his friends, looking down at Lily. 

"Quiet, you idiots!" 

Sirius thrust away the pillow with a growl, trying very hard to look furious. After a moment, however, the façade crumbled, and his harsher, almost barking laughter joined that of his friend. 

After a long moment, when Sirius and Remus' laughter had faded into involuntary chuckles, James took off his glasses to rub the heel of his hand over his eyes. He glanced down again at Lily's slender form, shaking his head softly in doting wonder. 

"Amazing, isn't it? I swear, the girl could sleep through the apocalypse and never hear a thing…." 

None of them saw the pillow in Lily's hand until James' smiling face disappeared behind it with a savage _thud_. 

Sirius let out an involuntary snort, Remus a choked laugh, and the two of them looked down at Lily with matched expressions of surprise and approval. Sirius leaned back in his chair again and threw his leg once more over the arm, flashing Lily a grin that would have sent half the girls at Hogwarts to their knees. 

"'Morning, Sunshine…." 

Lily smiled slightly, but didn't open her eyes. Instead, she groaned sleepily and rolled over, mumbling into James' stomach, "Go 'way…." 

"Nice…." Sirius paused for a moment, then began to carefully inspect his fingernails. "Hey Evans, I've been meaning to ask you… About that potions assignment….." 

"No, Sirius." 

Sirius looked up, doing his best imitation of a pleading puppy. "Aw, come on, Lily…." 

"Nope." 

James laughed quietly, dropping the pillow behind the sofa. 

"It's no good, Sirius. I was after her for an hour before she decided it was naptime." 

James looked down at Lily. Her deep green eyes were open and lifted toward him, the barest hint of a smile dancing on her lips. She let out a single sleepy chuckle, then closed her eyes again and snuggled her head against James' stomach. 

"Well, you'll never learn anything that way, will you?" 

Sirius leaned forward in his chair, letting a desperate note slip into his voice. "Please, Lils…." 

Lily opened her eyes and lifted her head. She glared at Sirius in silence for a moment, then closed her eyes once more and sighed softly, shifting to lay a slender arm over James' legs. 

"Goodnight, Sirius…." 

"Lils…." 

Silence. 

Sirius fell back into his chair with a snort, folding his arms over his broad chest. "Blast me if I can understand what you see in that girl, Potter. Mediocre, at best. I mean, honestly… red hair? Who has red hair? Well, besides that little Weasley bloke… what's his name? Nevermind. And anyway she's absolutely _no_help at all to her friends…." 

James laughed and buried his hand again in Lily's shining curls, tracing his fingernails lightly over her scalp. Lily shifted happily and let out a deeply satisfied sigh, but she didn't open her eyes. 

James grinned down at her. "Same thing you saw in her once, I would imagine." His grin faded, until a smile somewhere between shy and triumphant settled into his eyes. 

"I was just smart enough to want to see more of it." 

Sirius broke into sudden laughter, looking at James with a shocked expression. 

"James Potter, you scoundrel!" He laughed again, and James' ears quickly turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. Sirius went on without a pause, "You make me proud! I had always suspected you were a bit of a…" 

James was trying desperately to cut Siruis off. "I mean, more of it more often… I mean less often and more of it… Oh, blast it, Black, shut up! _Accio parchment_…." 

James' half-finished homework flew into his hand. His quill soon followed, and suddenly James was amazingly devoted on the Potions homework that had been completely forgotten a few moments before. A muffled laugh erupted from where Lily's face was hidden against James' stomach, but she still said nothing. 

Sirus let out another snorting laugh and waved a dismissive hand toward the pair on the couch. "You're hopeless, Potter." He rolled his eyes and looked away, asmirk still playing at his lips. 

Remus laughed quietly, then rubbed his hand over his face and glanced again toward the clock. _Twelve-thirty._

He sighed and stretched, then let the sigh deepen into a yawn. He let his hands drop from behind his head, then looked despondently at the large book left too long neglected on the warm, smooth surface of the coffee table. Beside it lay a long sheaf of cream-colored parchment, and a slim golden quill peeking out from under the edge. His bottle of ink was still unopened. 

Remus groaned miserably. 

Twelve-thirty, one scroll, eighteen inches, four friends, and Potions at ten in the morning. Remus laughed sleepily and ran his hand one last time through his hair before reaching for his quill. It was going to be a long night, and his friends certainly weren't helping. They never did. They would be up all night. 

And that was just the way he liked it.  


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**Author's Note:** This was actually the first chapter of what was once supposed to be a very long story. Written about a year ago, under a different pen name. (I'm not telling which one! ^_^)

Anyway...! After I finished reading Book 5 to my husband, I was very... _disheartened _by the apparent death of... (well, I'm sure you all know to whom I am referring. ^_^) and the story just didn't go any farther. Which is okay. There are still a couple of moments that are a lot of fun all by themselves. ^_^ And I found one of them today, in a dusty corner of my hard drive. So... a little elbow grease, a bit of spit and polish (but not too much spit), and here it is! I hope you've enjoyed it! ^_^

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**Disclaimer:**I own nothing related to Harry Potter or the books by J.K. Rowling. I simply have a severe case of novel envy.


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